The Changing Face of War
by Hawki
Summary: Everything has its beginnings, even if such a beginning is lost to the mists of time. Insanity and infinitude having gripped the galaxy, the origins of the Red vs. Blue war and the events before it have been lost. Until now...
1. Chapter 1

_A/N_

_Before starting, I think that it should be made clear that this isn't a standard _Red vs. Blue _story. For starters, it's a take on the universe's history, something that has so far only been alluded to in the series and in most, if not all of these cases, as humour. And as this is a take on history rather than the characters present in said history's later stages, the story is narrative and while there are occassional humorous snippets, don't expect anything approaching the scale of Rooster Teeth's series._

_So yeah. Nothing grand, nothing out of the ordinary, but something that I had fun writing. _

_Disclaimer: _Red vs. Blue _is the property of Rooster Teeth. And I guess Microsoft too given the heavy regulations they imposed on machinima awhile back. Cockbites._

* * *

**Red vs. Blue: The Changing Face of War (Section 1)**

**Part 1: "Earth doesn't suck! Earth rules!"**

Humanity has always moved towards unification. Whether it be by diplomacy or force of arms, links between groups have always been strengthed. By the dawn of the 21st century, it was fortunately the former that would act as a means of unification. The Cold War was over between the super powers, the European Union had been formed and globalization was rampant throughout the world's various cultures. War still existed in the world, but the reasons were different. Once, war had been waged for territory and resources. Now, it was waged for reasons of ideology. At least that was case for a time…

The developed nations policed the world at will, but they either could not or would not bring the smaller conflicts to an end. War prevents societal progress, and by keeping the smaller nations in their place, their own power could be assured. Besides, they had other things to worry about. A lack of natural resources, overpopulation, climate change, the ethics of genetic manipulation… They had their problems. Let the smaller nations deal with theirs.

In this regard, neither MEDC nor LEDC could bring themselves out of the crucible. In the end, it was the superpowers that would show how the world was changing. The Oceanic Federation would seek to expand into Antarctica, claiming resources for development. China and Russia would set their sights on Alaska. The United States would increase 'influence' on Mexico. The European Union would return to its imperialistic roots and ensure that oil prices in the Middle East would be kept "fair", ignoring the ways of supply and demand. By the 2030s, popular sentiment held that the spirit of unification would give way to armed conflict. The International Dibs protocol provided a buffer against this for awhile, but no-one was under any delusions as to how long it would last.

In the end, war did come, but not in the way that anyone imagined. In the year 2040, the Bible was rewritten, featuring a chase scene and cameos by various Hollywood actors. Exactly why and how this occurred has been lost to history, but suffice to say, it had a less than desirable result. Separation of church and state was no longer a reality in some nations. It had been said long ago that "religion is the opium of the masses" and as conditions deteriorated in many of Earth's poorest nations, that opium was being used for something else. It was surprising just how many took the rewriting to heart. Overnight, Italy, seceded from the Union, acting as friendly ground for a now unified Middle East, sick of the 'policing actions' of the Unions on both sides of the Atlantic. That, and the increased use of genetic manipulation (too many half women, half sharks for their liking) was all the excuse that the new allied nations needed to assert their place in the world.

At first the superpowers paid little attention to this turn of events, but when Florida was blasted off the face of the planet, the situation changed. The war was long, the conflict bloody, but the result was inevitable. Within five years, the European Union had annexed the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand had carved up Indonesia, China and Russia had expanded throughout Southeast Asia and the Americas had become 'united'. A single work of literature had given the 

poorer nations of the world the excuse they needed to stand up for their rights. In the end, it had given the richer nations the excuse they needed to quash them.

It can be said that the result was not entirely negative. The United Earth Government (UEG), an evolution of the United Nations, now made the possibility of war non-existent. And to their credit, the superpowers did help their territories get back on their feet, healing the scars of war. However, when it came to the spoils of that war, there was no question as to who had dibs, even if the protocol theoretically still existed…

…but how long would those spoils last?

**Part 2: "Which one's the hippy drive?"**

2101 was a notable year, apart from being the dawn of the 22nd century. First, it was the year that English 101 was designated as the common tongue of the planet. As it was "English is the only language that kicks arse. And if you have any doubts, remember that those who kicked your arses 50 years ago spoke that language!" The second reason was that 2101 featured the unveiling of the light drive.

The light drive had grown out of abandoned projects in particle acceleration in the war that led up to Earth's unification, abandoned as it was hardly worth developing weaponry to deal with nations who were already outnumbered and outclassed on the battlefield. However, the need to expand throughout and indeed beyond the Solar System was undeniable. The light drive, allowing travel at the speed of light, could allow this.

On December 31st of that year, the _Argonaut _was launched, ferrying a team of scientists to colonize Mars. Earth had been stripped bare and Luna was well on its way to being in the same boat. However, within the span of fifty years, the notion of resources running low was unheard, for by this stage, humanity had colonies on every world in the Solar System, or in the case of the gas giants, their moons, along with the technology to ensure those colonies were viable. Once, long ago, it had been fashionable to argue that mankind had never landed on the moon. Nowadays, it was argued whether mankind really landed on the Sun, despite the fact that the star was providing a practically infinite supply of hydrogen.

Gradually, idealism returned to mankind's psyche. In the year 2151, all conscription was banned, peace having come to Earth's children. In addition, the desire to explore the stars for more than just material gain gave way to the hyper drive, a solution for the long voyages between star systems. Although some mistook the "one with all the knobs" for the "other one with all the knobs", a practice evolved that the light drive would be used within star systems, the hyper drive between them. Given that practice, mankind spread throughout the stars.

It had been a long road to unification and some things, like the extinction of pumas and walruses (thus becoming near mythical creatures) due to the scars inflicted on Earth, could never be returned. Now however, mankind could seize his destiny.


	2. Chapter 2

**Red vs. Blue: The Changing Face of War (Section 2)**

**Part 3: "We finally made contact with an alien race. And our first attempt at communication is going to be through a BOMB!?"**

By the 26th century, two groups of planets had formed in humanity's domain-the Inner Planets and Outer Planets. It was the Outer Planets that would have both the honor and curse of making first contact with an alien species. First contact that resulted in the destruction of the colony of Outer Reach. The planet itself remained intact, but the same could not be said for every human settlement.

A group of alien races known as the Covenant were responsible for the destruction, their only goal being the destruction of humanity, seeing it as nothing more than a plague. At first, the world's governments refused to believe it, citing that it seemed like something out of a video game. However, as the alien advance continued, it was determined that not only was the Covenant was a real threat, but based on the reports received, it was hard to keep the aliens down. As such, humanity mobilized to ensure that they were.

Humanity had the advantage of near infinite resources to battle the Covenant. But those resources had to be converted into war products, a process that had never seen much utilization for centuries. And humanity itself had lost its war spirit, a loss that while bountiful, was beginning to show its negative side. Combat suits were made, but the people who wore them had been living in luxury for decades. Calls for conscription were turned down time and time again. Gradually, humanity's war machine began to expand, but the rate of Covenant expansion was always ahead of it.

If there was one area that humanity was superior to the Covenant, it was numbers. Humans had spread throughout the stars and bred like rabbits. In the end, these rabbits would be turned into soldiers of one of two armies. The Red Army and the Blue Army. So vast was humanity's numbers that no single organization could account for all of them. The leaders of these armies would be tasked with holding back the alien onslaught, being granted access to anything they deemed necessary. The leaders agreed and began their requests. Many requests…

In 2551, the first universal draft for these armies was held. Previously, volunteers could sustain the ranks, but now, the 400 year taboo had been overturned. However, it appeared to be a case of too little, too late. By September of 2552, the last of the Outer Planets had fallen to the Covenant invasion. The United Earth Navy, having made a doomed last stand at the planet of Bountiful Harvest, was forced to retreat. Orders were given by Red and Blue Commanders for the retreat to be varied in direction. Officially, this was to distract the Covenant long enough for the Inner Planets to be made ready for war. In truth however, the Red and Blue Commanders had a different set of motives…

2552 was a bleak year for humanity. However, 2552 would see the dawn of a new conflict. 2552 would see the beginning of the end of the conflict. 2552 would see the rise of a hero…a hero known only by his rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. It was this man who would turn the tide on the Covenant and discover the nature of their motives for their war…

…and he would do so on Halo.

**Part 4: "It's hard to keep a good alien down."**

The UES _Parcelus Sword _emerged on the edge of the galaxy, the notion that leading the Covenant forces away from Earth having been taken to heart. However, they'd still led them to something…a giant ring in the middle of nowhere. Kinda like a hole, but with nothing poking through. However, given the amount of Covenant ships that had followed the ship, that could quickly change.

After a brief space battle, the _Parcelus _was taken down to the surface, the soldiers onboard being ordered to establish command and control. Not that the Covenant were intent on making that easy, following them down to the surface. A series of battles waged throughout the ring. Gradually however, the human soldiers were beaten back. However, the blood that was spilt was worth the revelation that Master Chief gained…

By chance, the Chief came across an ancient AI construct. Its name had been forgotten and while a series of nicknames arose, ranging from Ralph to Eyeball 3000, the game soon quickly came to the end when Halo's functions were demonstrated. The AI had been listening to Covenant banter throughout the entire campaign. And when translation software was applied, an astonishing revelation took hold.

For 27 years, the Covenant had portrayed itself as a religious juggernaut, intent on mankind's destruction for irrational reasons. In truth, this was nothing more than a charade. The Covenant was waging war for far more utilitarian reasons. It wanted one thing from human colonies, and that was resources.

Through access to the Covenant data net, Master Chief learnt of their history. The Covenant were a collection of species that had evolved in adjacent star systems, their proximity bringing them into conflict with each other as they expanded. Much like Earth however, the stronger species came on top, the weaker ones down below. They had become united in much the same way of the UEG. If anything, the only differences between their history and that of humanity was the failure to separate church and state and the maintenance of a war machine.

The Covenant's technology was far superior to that of humanity, having invented the telephone a thousand years before humans did for instance, but their rate of expansion was far slower, courtesy of the lack of any real unity between their species other than that applied by force. They thus emerged into a galaxy whose planets were taken by another species. It was a quick and necessary decision to take these planets by force, but proper preparations had to be made first. Studying humanity, the Covenant took the most effective approach to war, portraying itself as a xenocidal juggernaut. The entire concept was anathema to humans and as such, an effective demoralizer.

Still, the war had been long and difficult, and Covenant resources were being stretched, not to mention that most of them were going to fuel their war machine. That was why the entire 

Covenant Armada was here at Halo…to restock their supplies without the danger of human interference and then to make a final assault on Earth. They hadn't been led here at all…

Master Chief knew what he had to do. War was only good for one thing, and that was making the peace all the more beautiful. The conflict had to be ended here and now. And considering the impressive armaments Halo possessed, it was easy too. Battling his way through Covenant fighters, Master Chief flicked the switch. A switch that activated Halo's defenses and "blew up the whole Covenant Armada." In an instant, the heart of humanity's greatest enemy had been torn out.

News of the victory quickly spread to Earth, along with the revelations that the Covenant was not anathema, and that it could be defeated. Many took the news to heart, including the commanders of the Red and Blue Armies. The Covenant had been defeated, the pieces waiting to be picked up. And both Red and Blue Commanders were determined to make those pieces their own property. In one of the basest acts of inhumanity in history, both Red and Blue Army Commanders made their move.

Power will inevitably corrupt those who do not understand its nature. And having acquired power over the years, but with their attention elsewhere, neither Red nor Blue commander understood what hell they had unleashed. In an instant, a new war began.

Man against Man…

Red vs. Blue.

* * *

_A/N_

_And that's Section 2._

_In regards to the issue of Caboose, the issue of his intelligence, or rather the lack of it, isn't something that I intend to deal with. This is a presentation of ideas as opposed to a true story, said ideas being based on background rather than characters. Still, if I had to guess as to why he's a moron, it would be something along the lines of questionable parentage. His father has died at least once and come back to life, he gets really mad when he falls asleep at night and dreams of his parents having intercourse and as his father said, "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" Who knows, maybe his parents were related...you know, before they were married._

_Just a collection of thoughts really. Certainly he becomes more stupid post-Season 1, likely due to O'Mally. Perhaps the AI did permenant damage to an already weak mind._


	3. Chapter 3

**Red vs. Blue: The Changing Face of War (Section 3)**

**Part 5: "In the meantime, some guys got all pissed off."**

It has been proven many times throughout history that making those loyal to you hate those who are not is a successful strategy for winning a conflict. The Red and Blue leaders were no exception, portraying their foes as the enemies of humanity and worthy of nothing less than total annihilation. Somehow, their forces obeyed these new orders without question, launching themselves into the crucible of civil war. Never mind that humanity had won peace long ago. Never mind that he had been pushed to the brink by alien species. All that mattered to these soldiers was following orders, even if those orders were to kill those who were once your allies.

As appalling as the conflict was to Earth, it was glorious to the Covenant. The incident at Halo had stripped them of the bulk of their fleet, seemingly crushing their dreams of conquest in an instant. The unexplained civil war amongst humanity however, rekindled those dreams in an equally short amount of time. Still, the Covenant held back. One strike would be made and in that strike, final victory would be made.

In principle, the plan was foolproof. However, Earth's civil war was based on irrationality and having fought a war for survival over the past 27 years, few people were willing to fully commit themselves. The sight of numerous Covenant ships invading Earth was more than enough to prompt temporary unification. Clearly, the Covenant had overestimated humanity's willingness to tear themselves apart and before long, they were the ones in pieces.

The war was over.

Some however, were not so ready to accept that fact, namely those in command of the Red and Blue Armies. No-one wanted to see conflict continue, but having taken control over Earth and its remaining colonies, humanity's empire had become polarized. It was a war that no-one understood and few wanted to fight, but as both Red and Blue Command stressed, no-one really had a choice in the matter.

The battle to save humanity was over. Now, as the year 2553 dawned, it was simply a question of who got to pick up the pieces.

**Part 6: "Why are we here?"**

It would take many volumes of literature to tell the full story of the war that was waged between Red and Blue over the initial three years, but to date, no attempt has ever been made. This has been due to the fact that nothing ever really happened and when it did happen, was driven by insanity. Areas such as Battle Creek featured eternal war between Red and Blue, neither side giving ground due to harmonic resonance technology being present in the Revilee that sounded every few minutes. In this case, a strange culture began to spring up, with terms such as "gg", "lol" and "rocket whore" springing up, along with strange beliefs such as that the flags were safeguards against the Beast, a creature that would come and rule the combatants for seven years, forcing them to take out the trash and go afk.

Battle Creek was an exception however, not only due to the fact that its inhabitants were frankly insane. For the most part, the forces would remain static, doing nothing but complaining about the lack of action and finding things to complain about. An exception to this came about in 2556 however. An exception that started in Blood Gulch, made its way to a nexus of teleporters known as the janitor's closet, Battle Creek itself and finally to the planet of Sidewinder. An exception that involved a gruff sergeant, an unlucky ghost, two psychotic mercenaries, a sarcastic slacker, an unrepentant kiss-up, two morons, a robot stuck on the Spanish setting and an AI that wanted to destroy and/or conquer the known universe.

Oh, and it also involved a weather machine and bomb that tore a hole in the fabric of time and space, catapulting all but the ghost 856 years into the future and said ghost 1000 years into the past. Go figure.

"Go figure" was what the galaxy did in the aftermath, the time bubble encapsulating a seizable portion of the galaxy. Many of the galaxy's species were either engulfed by the blast or fragmented by it. The sangheili were one such example. The Covenant having long since splintered, times were hard enough for them without stupid pimps detonating bombs that destroyed the present. The bubble cutting their territory in half, the sangheili began to de-evolve, coming to the point where all they could say was "blarg" and "honk". Survival of the fittest began, a select few ruling the aliens. Aliens that were effectively slaves.

Earth's empire fared slightly better, but that wasn't saying much. Earth itself was spared the blast, but many of its colonies were encapsulated, cut off from the outside universe. The war with the Covenant had reduced the number of those colonies to a handful and for all intents and purposes, the bomb detonated on Sidewinder had finished the job. Civil unrest, the continuing Red vs. Blue War and a lack of raw materials prevented any technological progress being made for centuries. Ironically, Earth had been spared going into timelessness. However, what with the static nature of development and the ever continuing war, for all intents and purposes, time _had _stopped.

Gradually, after centuries of infinitude, the people began to strive for unification. Agreeing to set aside their differences for the good of humanity, Red and Blue Command came together, agreeing to rebuild Earth's stellar empire. There were those who opposed this unification, but the majority of people were glad to see all aspects of the Red and Blue Armies being brought under a sovereign government known as the United Nations Space Command. A millennium ago, space was where mankind's destiny lay. Now, as the time bubble began to recede, it was space where humanity would seek his destiny again.

The Blue Special Forces were an exception though…


	4. Chapter 4

**Red vs. Blue: The Changing Face of War (Section 4)**

**Part 7: "I am the future. Where people have no morals and no emotions but we have a bunch of kickass gadgets"**

At the dawn of the 35th century, Blue Special Forces was officially organized into Project Freelancer. In practice, there was little change. The act of implanting AIs into humans had backfired spectacularly centuries ago, many of the agents becoming Freelancers by their own free will. The difference however, was that Freelancers were on loan to both the remnants of the Red and Blue Armies. The 'war' was no longer a threat to humanity's security and bits of revenue could be earnt from those in the armies who were serious enough about fighting it. Also, it provided useful combat data for the real armed forces.

Regardless, the UNSC had other problems to deal with, namely the issue of the Aliens. It was not the same conflict that had ended centuries ago and given how both civilizations were rebuilding themselves, it never would be. However, there were only so many planets available to them and while the amount was steadily increasing due to the recession of the time bubble, there still wasn't enough to go around. In addition, the Aliens didn't have much respect for the International Dibs Protocol.

Finally, Command came up with a solution. And courtesy of his time loop ability, Freelancer Wyoming had emerged from the time bubble before the rest of those who'd been there when the bomb went off on Sidewinder, not to mention that he'd employed the Reds and Blues of Battle Creek as his own private army. Probing what remained of the time bubble, Command developed a plan that Wyoming was more than happy to execute.

Penetrating the field, he sent his old AI Gamma into the past with the prophecy of the Great Destroyer. Although they became a slave race, not even the Aliens' despotic leaders could completely control the flow of digital information. Among that digital information was that of the Great Destroyer, one who was also a Messiah. An individual who would wield the Great Weapon and lead the Alien species to salvation. Of course, what the Aliens didn't know, is that they were falling right into humanity's hands. The Great Destroyer would be brought under the control of the AI Omega. The Aliens would overthrow their leaders under his direction and then tear themselves apart in an orgy of bloodshed that only a psychopathic AI such as himself could appreciate. Everyone would win. Well, everyone apart from the Aliens that is.

Of course, the Great Destroyer had to come into being first. And in the year 3412, 856 years after it first formed, the last remnants of the time bubble came apart, those who had detonated it being freed. And as per the protocols that Wyoming had ordered Gamma to follow, drawing in one of the Aliens by leaking the location of the Great Weapon, manipulating Private Church in the past to setting up the encounter in the future, the plan worked perfectly…

…at least until both teams were back in Blood Gulch, or Coagulation as some had started calling it. "Coagulation" is perhaps the better term, considering it was coagulation that occurred in the flow of the plan that Command had set up. Coagulation that involved a bunch of Wyoming clones, a rampant AI and an explosion of a craft in the air. A craft that just happened to hold the 

Alien baby that was meant to be the Great Destroyer. In an instant, years of planning, scheming and plotting had gone to waste.

The results were predictable. Blood Gulch lost its value overnight. Command was willing to let those involved waste their lives in their Red vs. Blue war, what was left of the two factions squabbling for a place in Command. The Aliens were still a nuisance, but they could be dealt with. After all, they weren't the only problem that the UNSC had to deal with….

…a fact demonstrated aptly fourteen months later at Outpost 17B. A fact that was demonstrated by the Meta…

* * *

_A/N_

_And that thus ends the story._

_It's perhaps just as well that I ended it here, as canon has already rendered it null and void. I decided to sponser again recently and as a result, know from director's commentary that it's pretty much been confirmed that there was never a jump to the future, Burns stating that _Reconstruction _takes place after the war with the Covenant. This is put into the context of _Halo 3_._

_There were signs of course and I can only guess an outside force, likely from Command, re-awoke Sheila early and re-did the Red and Blue Bases to add to the impression that the group had travelled to the future. As a result though, it means that I've kinda wasted a lot of time with this story. Like _Beginnings_, it's been rendered null as to the chance of any expansion. Still had fun with it though. __As for future _Red vs. Blue _stories apart from oneshots, I have ideas, but none that are liable to be mentioned or posted at this point in time._


End file.
